


Burn my heart to purify it

by barbitone



Series: Voltron Fanfiction [18]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Sex, Aliens, Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Bottom Lotor (Voltron), But that's sort of the nature of the trope so idk, Crying, Fuck Or Die, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Oral Sex, There's no underage sex but Lotor's like vaguely young at the start so idk, Top Shiro (Voltron), Underage - Freeform, dubcon, idk maybe?, mild temperature play, prisoner lotor (voltron), thoughts of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 12:02:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17344895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone
Summary: Zarkon declared Lotor a fugitive and for the first time in a long time he had nothing again- no serum, no pills. Nothing at all. He surrendered himself to the Paladins, allowed himself to be put into a too-bright too-small cage, and prayed his heat wouldn’t come.But of course it did.





	Burn my heart to purify it

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna lie, I was just going to title this fic "Heat" but uhh... did you know there are 34,758 fics on AO3 called "Heat" as of January 7 2019 9:58pm?? So instead the title is from a quote I found on goodreads and will not be including here because it was by a very nice looking Indian doctor who probably doesn't need this story showing up in his google search results.
> 
> I just wanted to write some porn but Lotor is a trashfire with no chill, so... sorry.

 

* * *

 

The first time it happened Lotor was barely more than a child, squaring off against an older Galra boy in the fighting pits. It stole over him slowly, a creeping heat pooling in his stomach, a slight sharpening of his sense of smell, a feeling like something shivering over his skin.

His opponent caught on to his distraction and pushed him into the sand, straddling him and laughing victoriously, and suddenly Lotor’s limbs felt oddly heavy. The other boy was taunting him, saying such cruel things, but he couldn’t focus on that because his ears were ringing and his vision was going blurry and the pressure felt- it felt _good_ to have someone on top of him, pushing him down.

He missed an opening to gain the upper hand and the boy punched him in the face and even that didn’t feel the same as it usually did. It still hurt, but suddenly Lotor wanted it again.

His Dayak walked over to bring an end to the match, her nostrils flaring as she took Lotor by the arm and marched him away. He was dizzy as he followed her through the halls, not entirely sure where they were going even though he knew the ship from top to bottom.

She took him to a medbay and the doctors took his temperature, his blood pressure, his other vitals. They took blood samples and looked in his ears and eyes and did tests on his reflexes and even their cold impersonal touches made him shiver. Something was wrong with him, something more than usual. They left him in a room for observation that night, lying on a cot in a hospital gown, all alone.

It was horrible, he felt- like he wanted something, but he didn’t know what. He felt hot all over, feverish and woozy, it was like nausea but somehow different. By midnight his dick was hard and he couldn’t will it away, couldn’t get it to stop. He wanted to touch himself so badly but he _couldn’t_ , they were _watching_ him. This couldn’t be right, couldn’t be normal.

He didn’t sleep, and he didn’t touch himself either no matter how much he wanted to, no matter how much it hurt. It was over by morning and he was sent back to his own rooms and no one told him what it had been. Even without knowing he had a feeling it had been something bad and shameful.

But at least it was over, he knew it was over. He hadn’t been punished for it either, which meant he’d done the right thing, handled it correctly. So at least if it ever happened again he knew what to do- fight it and not give in, wait until it was over.

 

* * *

 

Once he was older it happened again.

He woke in the middle of the night gasping and disoriented, impossibly hot with every part of him _throbbing_. It was horrifying how hard he was, how much he wanted-

And he was alone, he was alone in the privacy of his rooms. He could just- he could just-

He staggered to the bathroom and climbed into the shower, dropping to his knees as he turned the water on to the coldest setting it would go, anything to cool the fever raging through him. No one would know, he told himself as he dropped his hand to his cock, pushing his face against the tiles and biting his fist to try and stay quiet.

No one would know how he’d lost control of himself here, he could just- 

He came with a gasp and stared in horror as his erection didn’t go down, as the feelings didn’t _stop_. He wanted something so badly and anything he could do for himself just wasn't enough.

Maybe he could wait it out, like last time. He tried his best and he didn’t cry no matter how much he wanted to, and in the morning he forced himself to stand and dry himself off and walked into the main part of his rooms to see his Dayak there, staring at him.

She took him back to the medbay and they did more tests, and they gave him pills after.

Lotor felt relieved to get the pills. It was familiar, normal. He had so many pills already- steroids to make him grow bigger, stimulants to keep up his stamina, sedatives so he could sleep, so many others. He was used to pills and this was just one more. One more and he never had to feel this way again.

 

* * *

 

Lotor took his pills like he was supposed to, he lived his life, pursued his work. He did his best and excelled at everything and even though it was never enough he still had hope that one day it would be.

And then his father set his life on fire and Lotor was exiled, left to drift through space with nothing but Kova and the clothes on his back in a ship that was little more than a cargo craft. He was devastated, crushed inside and out about what had happened, how he'd failed, what his father had done.

And then he ran out of pills.

It started the very next day, almost like it had been waiting to creep up on him. He thought he could handle it, wait it out, but it was stronger than the last time.

On the second day his vision started to go blurry, by the third his hands were shaking almost too hard for him to pilot his ship. He was scared and alone and vulnerable in a way he’d never been before but he managed to find a nebula that scattered sensor frequencies to hide in until it was over.

He fought it for another two days, but in the end it was too strong, too much, and he sobbed as he rubbed himself through his flight suit, disgusted and afraid and so terribly alone.

It was horrible.

It was the worst thing he’d ever felt- grief and fury and desire mixed into something sickening that made want to vomit, run away, give up. With no one there to see him he wept for hours, days, lost and alone and unable to take control of himself during his heat, unable to accept the worst failure of his life.

And then it was over and he vowed to himself that he’d never have to feel that way again.

 

* * *

 

He broke into a lab as soon as he could. He knew enough by then to synthesize the drug on his own, to chemically castrate himself as efficiently as any doctor.

It was better that way- no heat, no desire, no distractions.

It was better that way. He’d felt _things_ before, _wanted_ before, and it was just another way to be weak and vulnerable and this was better.

It was better to be free of such things.

He synthesized a serum and it was good enough. He hated shots, he had so many painful memories of them, but he’d bear them for as long as he had to. He took the shots, and then he found a way to get pills, and for a while he kept his vow.

 

* * *

 

His lifestyle wasn’t exactly _stable_ at the best of times, and at the worst of times it was a complete disaster. He was trapped on an outlying planet while his ship was being repaired the next time he ran out of pills. It had been centuries since the last time, he’d almost forgotten how awful it was, how strong the desire.

He couldn’t go through it alone again, he just couldn’t. He was losing his mind already and it was only the second day.

He was staring at himself in the mirror of the repair station’s bathroom, staring at his flushed face and blown pupils, as he made the decision to just- _do it._ What happened afterwards was a blur and before he knew knew it he was- he was-

He winced and gritted his teeth against the pain and pleasure. He was- bent over a counter somewhere, crying out helplessly as someone- someone- _fucked_ him.

What the _fuck_ was he doing? What was he allowing? It felt so good, so impossibly good even as it hurt and he gasped and moaned like a wild thing, like an animal. He had just enough presence of mind left to be ashamed and hot tears rose to his eyes.

And then it was over and the man was leaving and Lotor sagged down to the floor, curling into himself as the tears finally broke free. Everything hurt, his skin was on fire. He hadn’t thought it was possible but he felt even worse than before.

It was agony and he couldn’t stop his shaking, his sobbing. He didn’t know where he was and it wasn’t _safe_ and he couldn’t even gather the strength to pull his pants up as he lay on the cold floor, alone again, always alone.

Eventually he calmed and the heat faded. It had helped, what he’d done, what he’d allowed to be done to him. He felt so terrible though that he wasn’t sure it had been worth it.

 

* * *

 

He considered taking a blade to himself and the only thing that stopped him was that he wasn’t sure it would work. If he _knew_ it would he would have done it in an instant, cut himself, mutilated himself, _anything_.

But not knowing stayed his hand, and instead he focused on getting a secure supply of pills.

 

* * *

 

Eventually he figured it out, figured out the pills and the timing and he wasn’t caught out again. He almost didn’t even think about it anymore, not outside his nightmares.

But then his father declared him a fugitive and for the first time in a long time he had nothing again- no serum, no pills. Nothing at all. He surrendered himself to the Paladins, allowed himself to be put into a too-bright too-small cage, and prayed it wouldn’t come again.

But of course it did.

He’d been betrayed and disappointed by everyone and everything, why not his own body? It was only fitting.

It was agony.

He didn’t let it show, he set his jaw and gritted his teeth and told himself he’d get through this just like he’d gotten through everything else. The only thing protecting him now was the fact that the Paladins feared him, feared the power they thought he had. It was all a lie, of course. He was completely at their mercy even though they didn’t know it. They couldn’t know it or he was dead, and if all he had to do was pretend to be calm even as he was burning from the inside out then he could do that. He could do that. It couldn’t last forever.

It couldn’t last forever, he told himself as he forced himself to focus on their questions.

On the third day the Black Paladin frowned as he watched him, and once they were done with their questions the Black Paladin paused.

“You go on ahead,” he said quietly to the princess and her steward.

Once they were gone he deactivated the forcefield and stepped into Lotor’s cell, frowning as he walked closer, his nostrils flaring.

Lotor didn’t stand, he couldn’t, not without giving himself away. He couldn’t help flinching back when the Black Paladin took his chin in his hand, tilting his face up.

“Look at me,” he said quietly and Lotor scowled as he did what he was told.

Why didn’t he just _leave_? All Lotor wanted was to be left alone so he could curl up and tuck his face away from the cameras, so he could weep quietly without them knowing. It was the only relief available to him now.

“Fuck,” the Black Paladin breathed out, and Lotor couldn’t decipher the expression in his eyes. “Alright,” he said, letting go of Lotor’s face and stepping back. “I’ll see what I can do.”

He left and turned the forcefield back on as Lotor stared after him, confused and shivering.

He had a few vargas of peace and then the Black Paladin was back, flanked by four sentries as he turned the forcefield off.

“Come with me,” he said.

Lotor straightened slowly, trying to pull himself together. Where was the Black Paladin taking him? He was dizzy, his body felt so _heavy_ and his skin was too tight, too hot. He was woozy and lost and he just had to- he just had to-

He frowned as he stood, his mind swimming. The room shifted around him sickeningly and he stumbled a little before drawing himself up to his full height. He was in control, he had to be in control.

The Black Paladin led him through the halls until he opened a small door and motioned Lotor inside.

It was _dark_ in there and Lotor fought not to let out a sigh, fought not to close his eyes. It was so much better than that bright glaring cell, such a relief. There was a bed in front of him, he was in a bedroom, living quarters. What-

“What is this?” he demanded, his voice shaking. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I was an arena slave for a year,” the Black Paladin said slowly. “I think I know what a Galra heat looks like.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lotor said harshly, afraid to be found out, afraid of what the Black Paladin may do to him if he knew.

The Black Paladin tilted his head to the side, watching him curiously. “Don’t I?” he asked. “I still have some pull around here, I thought you’d like some privacy, some comfort. We’re not trying to torture you.”

Lotor couldn’t help baring his teeth at that. Maybe they hadn’t been trying, but they’d been succeeding quite well regardless.

“I know,” the Black Paladin said softly. “I know. I’m sorry. There’s only so much I can do.” He licked his lips and looked away. “I could- I could help you. If you want,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “I know how, I’ve done it before. It doesn’t have to be- I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone handle it so well before, wait so long. Maybe you- I don’t know. Maybe you have something worked out. But I can help you, if you don’t.”

Lotor stared at him, not sure what he was hearing. He felt afraid, disgusted, ashamed. He was sick to his stomach at what was happening.

“If you want to help,” Lotor said, his voice shaking uncontrollably, “ _get out._ ”

The Black Paladin nodded.

“Alright,” he said. “Alright. I posted sentries outside, no one will bother you. Just-” he frowned, running a hand through his hair. “I’ll check on you in a few hours, alright? Bring you something to eat. Let the sentries know if you need me sooner.”

“Get _out_ ,” Lotor repeated, not quite able to wrap his mind around what was happening.

As soon as the Black Paladin left Lotor was struggling to take his clothes off, his fingers slipping awkwardly over the hidden latches of his armor. At the back of his mind he wondered if this was just another trick, if there were cameras here too, if they were watching his humiliation.

He couldn’t stop the tears rising to his eyes, spilling over, sliding down his cheeks. If they knew it was already too late, it didn’t matter anymore.

He felt awful, worse than ever before. He made his way to the shower and turned the water on to its coldest setting, kneeling under the spray as he sobbed. He didn’t bother touching himself, he knew it wouldn’t do any good.

He sat there until the door opened and he flinched, looking up.

“What are you doing?” the Black Paladin asked, frowning. “You’re only making it worse.”

He reached out and turned off the water before draping a towel over Lotor’s shoulders and urging him up.

“You need to stay warm,” the Black Paladin said quietly. “You need to lie down.”

Lotor didn’t fight as the man led him to the bed and pulled the blankets back.

“You should eat,” the Black Paladin said, “you need to-”

“Why are you doing this, Black Paladin?” Lotor interrupted. “Why are you-”

The man’s lips tightened and he seemed lost in thought as he tucked a blanket up around Lotor’s shoulders.

“I’ve been in your position,” he said at last. “I’ve been- captive, alone, suffering. I didn’t deserve it, and neither do you.”

“You have no idea who I am or what I deserve, Black Paladin,” Lotor breathed out, turning away from him, away from his considering gaze.

“My name is Shiro,” the Black Paladin said after a moment. “Shiro. How much longer will your heat last?”

“I don’t know,” Lotor said bitterly. “I haven’t had one in three thousand years.”

“Fuck,” Shiro said.

Despite everything, despite how awful and needy he felt, Lotor laughed. “Quite,” he managed.

“Alright,” Shiro said. “Don’t forget to drink water. I’ll come back tomorrow, unless you need me sooner.”

“Get out,” Lotor managed weakly, exhausted already, and to his great surprise Shiro nodded and simply- left.

 

* * *

 

He lost track of time for a while as he lay dizzy and shivering on the bed, sweating through the sheets. Every so often the Black Paladin- Shiro- came by, forced him to eat and drink water, took his temperature.

It was only getting worse, he could barely keep himself from whimpering as Shiro pressed a cold cloth to his forehead, helped him sit up so he could drink.

And then, some unmeasurable amount of time later, Shiro was walking in looking tense and upset, his lips set into a thin line.

“Lotor,” he said, and Lotor fought to open his eyes. “Lotor they’re- they’ve decided-” Shiro broke off, breathing hard. “Zarkon contacted us, he wants you. He offered us a prisoner exchange and they- they decided to do it. It’s going to happen tomorrow.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in but then Lotor exhaled a slow shuddering breath and screwed his eyes shut, pressing his face into the pillows. For the first time during his heat he felt cold, completely frozen. It was over. It was all over.

It was so fitting. His life had been so painful and humiliating, a string of one indignity after another. It was fitting that this was how it would end, that he’d be dragged to his execution while in this pitiful and humiliating state, while his own treacherous body rebelled against him.

“Let me help you,” Shiro said urgently as Lotor fought to hold back a sob. His head hurt, there was so much pressure behind his eyes, his jaw, his cock. Everything hurt so badly, the desire was so strong it felt like anger, nausea, agony.

“What’s the point?” he asked, breathing harshly. It was all he could do to hold back panic but it took him anyway and his voice rose desperately. “Why bother? It’s over. Just- just-” he didn’t know how to finish that sentence.

“It’s not over,” Shiro said firmly. He stepped closer and set something down on the bed beside Lotor- his _bayard_. “It’s for you. So you can have a chance. Lotor _please_ \- let me help you.”

Lotor stared at the bayard, blinking slowly, stared at Shiro, waiting patiently by the bed.

“What if I say no?” he whispered.

“Then I’ll leave,” Shiro said. “Please don’t say no.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Lotor cursed, some sense of self-preservation rearing its ugly head. He didn’t want to go back to his father. He didn’t want to die. _He didn’t want to die._

“Fine,” he bit out. “ _Fine_. Yes- do it.”

Shiro exhaled sharply and brought his hands up to unzip his vest and take off his shirt, and then he was climbing on the bed and taking Lotor’s cock in his mouth and Lotor arched up against him and clutched at the sheets, fighting not to scream.

 _Fuck._ It was amazing, the best thing he’d ever felt. He’d never done this before or had this done to him. It would probably feel good even without the heat but now his senses were heightened and it was overwhelming. He came almost instantly and Shiro swallowed before pulling off and looking down at him dark-eyed.

“Just to take the edge off,” he said with a small smile. “How do you want to do the next bit? Do you want to stay like this? Turn around?”

Everything in Lotor rebelled at having his back to an untried ally, but on the other hand- he didn’t want to look at Shiro either, not while he was- was- _fucking_ him.

“I’ll turn around,” he said and waited for Shiro to pull back so he could do just that.

“Like this,” Shiro said quietly, taking him by the hips and pulling him up higher.

Lotor let himself be maneuvered, flushing with shame as Shiro pressed his fingers to his entrance. He was slick already, he didn’t need preparation. Why was the Black Paladin drawing this out?

“Do it,” he hissed.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Shiro said as he pressed a finger inside him.

Lotor had to screw his eyes shut and grip the sheets, biting at the pillow so he wouldn’t let out any undignified sounds, as though his dignity wasn’t already soiled beyond repair.

Shiro pressed into him carefully, opening him up like he cared. It was awful and wonderful and Lotor just wanted it to be over and yet- it felt so good and he couldn’t help gasping and writhing on Shiro’s fingers like some base fuck toy, couldn’t help how _good_ it felt.

There were tears leaking out of his eyes, but that was fine, Shiro wouldn’t see.

“Shh,” Shiro said quietly. “You’re alright, I’ve got you.”

What was Lotor doing to have prompted such a response? He didn’t know, his mind was hazy and it was terrifying and horrible and he just needed-

There was something larger pushing against him, Shiro’s cock. Lotor bit his lip as Shiro pushed inside and started to thrust slowly.

Lotor gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt, anything to stop the whimpering. The pillow was wet under his face from a mix of tears and sweat and saliva, he couldn’t retract his claws and he was ripping through the sheets. Shiro was talking to him, saying something, but Lotor’s ears were ringing too loudly to make out anything but the vaguely reassuring tone.

It felt so good, it had never felt this good before. When he’d done this before there had always been pain mixed with the sickening pleasure and that had been better.

Now there was nothing tethering him to reality, to his sanity, nothing but heat and pleasure thundering through him. He came and almost didn’t notice, everything felt the same, everything was fire and electricity. It didn’t matter, he was still hard.

Shiro bent over him and wrapped his hand around his cock and Lotor couldn’t help it, he screamed into the pillow.

“Easy,” Shiro murmured, “easy, it’s alright, you’re alright.”

But his hand was still moving over Lotor’s cock and he couldn’t _breathe_ it was so good.

He gasped desperately as he came again, and that time at least there was some measure of relief. He collapsed to the bed, unable to hold himself up anymore, and Shiro pulled out before lying down next to him.

Lotor closed his eyes as he fought to catch his breath. This was the part where it got worse, where his partner left and he spent a few vargas huddling on the ground in pure agony before it was over at last. But his whole body was tingling instead, practically singing with pleasure and it was bizarre, it had never been this way before. Slowly he realized that Shiro was still touching him, stroking his back firmly with his flesh hand.

He looked over to see Shiro watching him, his eyebrows drawn down in something like concern.

“You’re- you didn’t finish,” Lotor said in surprise as he stared at Shiro’s still hard cock. It was smaller than the Galra Lotor had been with, smooth and blunt. Maybe that was why this time felt so different.

“No,” Shiro said. “If I come now I won’t be able to fuck you again.” Maybe Lotor seemed confused, because Shiro smiled a little and continued. “I mean, after three thousand years I doubt once is going to cut it. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” Lotor said after a few doboshes. Shiro moved closer and wrapped an arm around him, pushed him to his side and moved his knee up before pressing back inside. Lotor felt less frantic now, less hot. It was still overwhelming but at least he could string two thoughts together, at least he was in control enough to not claw through the sheets.

He came again with Shiro’s hand around his cock, and then they waited for a while and Shiro fucked him twice more, gasping against the back of his shoulder during the last time, his moans mingling with Lotor’s own.

“Sorry,” Shiro gasped, “sorry, I can’t- I can’t-” he moaned and bit at Lotor’s shoulder sharply as he spent himself in Lotor’s body.

Lotor gasped and whined in disappointment when he pulled out but Shiro was already back, pushing his metal fingers inside as Lotor hissed in surprise. He felt so _cold_ , colder than maybe he should be and it was amazing, grounding and oddly calming.

“Alright?” Shiro asked, pressing his sweaty forehead to his back.

“Yes,” Lotor managed. “It’s just- you’re- cold.“

“I’ve been told it helps,” Shiro said. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” Lotor whispered, closing his eyes as his world narrowed to Shiro behind him, inside him, fingering him slowly, almost lazily.

He was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open. Gradually his body stopped throbbing and he knew the worst of it was over. Shiro sighed, sensing the change somehow, and pulled out only to wrap his arms around Lotor tightly, drawing him close. His chest was sweaty and hot against Lotor's back, his arms so strong wrapped around him. Lotor felt a jolt of something like pleasure, something tingling and electric running over his skin.

“What are you doing?” Lotor asked. Why wasn’t he leaving? This was when they always left.

“What do you mean?” Shiro asked sleepily.

“What- why are you still here?”

Shiro pulled back a little and Lotor turned to take in his perplexed expression. “I’m not going to leave you now, during the second stage. Don’t even ask.”

And then he paused, looking at Lotor’s confused expression sadly. “Oh, Lotor,” he breathed out and Lotor wanted to flinch away from his pity but he couldn’t, Shiro was holding him too tightly. “Your hormones are going crazy, if I left now you’d crash and it would be awful. You need skin-to-skin contact so you can come down gently, so I’m going to stay here with you until it’s over.”

“Oh,” he said, embarrassed all over again, ashamed that this human knew more about his heat than he did. But he’d hated it so much, been so afraid, that he’d run from it instead of trying to understand it. Maybe that had been a mistake.

“Easy,” Shiro whispered. “It’ll be over soon, in a few hours. Just go to sleep now, I know you’re tired. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

It was easy then, oddly easy, to close his eyes and relax, press back against Shiro still so close, still holding him. The unbearable heat was gone, all he felt was warmth and the aftershocks of pleasure and oddly enough- safety. He felt secure and held and _good_ and it was strange but he didn’t have it in himself to resist just then. Shiro was still stroking his back and sides gently, smoothing his palm over Lotor’s skin, and it felt so good it was almost better than everything that had come before, and before he knew it Lotor was drifting off.

 

* * *

 

When he woke he felt strange. He felt- _strong_ , powerful. He sat up, careful not to wake Shiro beside him, and stared at his fingers as he tightened his hands into fists, let go. He felt better than he ever had, a strange new energy coursing through his veins.

He stood and stretched slowly, wondering at how odd he felt, how _slow_ everything seemed around him. It felt like the whole world was at his mercy and he could do anything he wanted, anything at all.

Lotor showered methodically and dried himself off before putting on his armor. He felt fresh and new, he felt more in control than ever before with each armored plate that he fastened around his body. The Black Bayard was still laying on the bed and he took it carefully and shivered at the feeling of the Black Lion pressing against his mind.

It was easy to turn the bayard into a sword, a blaster, a whip. It was so responsive to his touch and finally he watched it dissolve into nothing and knew without a doubt that it would answer his call when he needed it again.

There was still a tray of untouched food goo on the dining table and it looked a little disgusting but Lotor didn’t care, he was suddenly ravenous. He sat and ate, drank water, and by the time he was finished Shiro made a quiet sound, stirring in the bed.

Lotor froze, watching as Shiro sat up and scratched the back of his neck. He noticed Lotor looking and paused, dropping his hand back to the sheets.

“How do you feel?” he asked slowly.

“Good,” Lotor said at last, still not quite able to believe it.

Shiro smiled. “Good,” he said quietly. “That’s good. That means we did it right.”

Lotor’s eyes widened as he finally put two and two together. “You did this,” he said. “You- you’re the reason I feel this way.”

Shiro shrugged. “That's just what happens when you don't try to tough it out alone,” he said with a smile.

Lotor flushed and looked away. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “I think I can face him now. I think I can win.”

“I know you can,” Shiro said firmly and Lotor shivered. Shiro’s confidence filled him with sudden warmth, displacing all the shame he’d felt before.

“Yes,” he said with a small victorious smile. “Yes. I can.”

 

 

_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine in universe it's considered lucky to have a heat before a battle, but obvs Lotor doesn't know about that.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at [barbitone](http://barbitone.tumblr.com/) and pillowfort also at [barbitone](https://www.pillowfort.io/barbitone)


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